Omaha Public Radio News

2:31 pm

Tue November 1, 2011

Nebraska lawmakers begin special session on Keystone XL pipeline

Omaha, NE – The Nebraska Legislature begins a special session Tuesday on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Governor Dave Heineman called a special session last week, saying lawmakers should discuss alternatives to the route of the Keystone XL project. The State Department could decide by the end of the year if the XL pipeline goes forward. TransCanada's proposed route for the pipeline takes it through the Nebraska Sandhills.

Paul Landow, a political science professor at UNO, believes there isn't much the Unicameral can do to stop the pipeline project. "This is definitely not about whether or not a pipeline will be built, because it's almost certain that a pipeline will be built, and probably not even very much about the route. It's unlikely the route is going to change very much, if at all."

Landow says legal action against the state depends on what the Unicameral does. And he says any regulation or restriction that comes from the special session shouldn't be so restrictive as to inhibit future development.

TransCanada wants to build the the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast.